Karissa smiled at Simon as he spoke to her, then she replied, "Hello Simon, my name's Karissa Aburen, I'm 18, and I'll be singing Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne."
She set her fingering for the first few measure of the song, then started playing. She had just tuned the instrument and checked the torque rod, so everything about the sound was perfect for this audition.
"Na na
Na na na na na"
She chose to keep the 'na na's' because they would accent her voice right, so the beginning sounded even cooler than it would have without them, the guitar intro was beautiful.
"I miss you
Miss you so bad
I don't forget you
Oh, it's so sad"
Karissa let herself get into the mood of the song, concentrating completely on the words, the chords for the guitar accompaniment came as second nature.
By this point, the strumming part started, and she leaned into each motion, but not too much, she didn't want to overdo anything for this audition.
"I hope you can hear me
I remember it clearly"
Now, here it was, this was one of the strongest points of the song. She had to nail this, and she was sure she could. As she started the guitar part to lead into the chorus, she really prtrayed the feeling of the words.
"The day you slipped away
Was the day that I found I won't be the same, oh"
She smiled softly, shortly, that was her favorite part, and she felt that she got it on the nose, the rest would now come naturally to her. And to add to that, the guitar part would amp up, almost as if it were power chords.
"Na na
Na na na na na"
She sang them softly, but loud enough for Simon to hear, after all, she was performing for him.
"I didn't get around to kiss you
Goodbye on the hand
I wish that I could see you again
I know that I can't
I hope you can hear me
I remember it clearly"
Here it went, this would lead into the most crucial part of her performance, and Karissa being the confident person she was, she knew she could show Simon that she had lived the lyrics during this performance.
"The day you slipped away
Was the day that I found it won't be the same, oh"
The high point approached, and in the few seconds before it came, the chords of the guitar rang out through the room, making chills shiver through Karissa's spine. This wasn't just a performance, wasn't just an audition, it was her chance to prove to
the Simon Cowell that she had an intense love for the music she sang.
"I've had my wake up
Won't you wake up
I keep asking why
I can't take it
It wasn't fake it happened, you passed by"
Karissa found herself involved with the words, this was working out just as she had practiced it for months before, she was confident that she was doing well.
"Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere I can't bring you back
Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere you're not coming back"
The final verse came with an intense series of chords on the guitar, so far she hadn't let the instrument set her back even a centimeter.
"The day you slipped away
Was the day that I found it won't be the same, oh"
The last word in the chorus softened, just as it did when Avril sang it, and so did the guitar part. It returned to a soft rhythym, the strumming no longer necessary, now her fingers slid across the strings as she picked out the last few notes.
"Na na
Na na na na na
I miss you"
One small chord ended the song, and she looked up from her guitar, hoping that Simon didn't think she couldn't handle playing the guitar while she sang, she had practiced this song for months, praying that she could get this chance, and now that she had gotten it, she hoped she didn't mess it up. She rested one arm on the top of her guitar, and she waited for his response to her performance, silently pleading in her mind,
Please don't let him hate it, please don't let him hate it, it'll hurt too much....
She had put her all into a couple minutes of song.
